And Now, For Something Completely Different...

Welcome to my movie blog where today I'll be reviewing a book.

It's another Woody (Allen) Wednesday and I have officially caught up for the ones I've missed *holding for applause*.  Now, as you may have figured out, my love for Woody Allen expands above and beyond my love for any other director.  I own his movies, a t-shirt with his face on it, a poster, I quote him all the time, he is my phone's wallpaper, and I own his books (also want to point out none of this is creepy I just idealize the man).  Yes, I own his books and not just books where he is interviewed, or people write about him, although I own a few of them, but books written by him.  I thought I'd be a nice change of pace if I reviewed one of them, Without Feathers.

Without Feathers, along with many other books by Allen, is a compilation of short stories and plays originally written for newspapers and magazines while Allen himself struggled to break into the movie business (in fact I believe many were written while he was in Europe waiting to film Casino Royal.... I'm actually kinda positive, probably shouldn't know this off the top of my head but what the hell I do). Now my attention span is short, very short, I've walked away from this computer multiple times while in the middle of writing a single post, yet I somehow sat down and finished this book within a few hours.  I have mentioned here before how I am more a watcher than a reader and yet I love this book more than almost half the movies I've seen.

In particular a play entitled, Death (A Play).  I want to see this play performed, put on a stage, somewhere, anywhere.  It is just too good to sit in a book unread by so many people.  I have personally bookmarked this play, highlighted it, and handed it off to a friend while crying.  Perhaps my favorite lines of dialogue to have ever been written resides in this play (and now on this blog): "I'm not afraid to die, I just don't want to be there when it happens."  Is your mind blown?  Is that not the most beautiful thing you've ever read?! Now read it in Woody's voice!  I'm sorry, I'm pressing the keys on the keyboard rather hard I'm so happy to be able to share this with you.  That's just one line in an otherwise Allenesque stream of conscious play, and entire book

Another play, God (A Play), breaks the 4th wall so many times I've lost track.  It features actors on stage, Allen himself as a director, and an audience of actors making the play you read on the page.  I reread line so many times in order to keep my head from exploding.  The play is extremely hilarious and also something I would pay to see performed, both plays feel like they belong in a movie ensemble similar to the format of Everything You Have Always Wanted to Know About Sex *But Were Too Afraid to Ask.

In this book it is extremely apparent that Allen wrote whatever he could think of and whatever, to him, was funny. Fortunately, what's funny for him turned out to be funny for just about everyone and a few years after they were published, Woody was steadily becoming one of the greatest, well-known directors of his time. Years later, in the early 80s, those publications were put into book form where they now sit, on my bookshelf, surrounded by multiple other Woody Allen books.

The books doesn't necessarily make sense, I'd be lying if I said I understood what he meant by half the stories but that is part of the comical appeal.  It is a humor book, and I know many people don't find reading fun but I died of laughter in a public park reading this, certainly you will too.  It is not too long, I'd give the precise page count except I've lent it to someone.  I would also like to recommend that if this book is something that interests you, look into his other three master pieces as well.  I have not fully finished them all, although I do own them, but I have read halfway through them and cannot wait to have the time to read further, in fact, I'll start now.

I'll be back to movies on the next post!

Sleeper (Woody Allen Wednesday make-up)

My best friend's mom apparently recommended I watch this movie after she found out I loved Woody Allen. According to my friend, and I'm paraphrasing here, "have you seen that one where he's frozen? Apparently that's good."  For all intense and purposes, she was right.  Sleeper was one of Woody's earlier films, not long after Take the Money and Run and both had the same slap stick quality to them that I have come to love as classic Woody Allen humor.

The introduction quite clearly lays out a future in which an organization wakes a man who has been frozen since the 70s, Mile Monroe, played by Woody Allen.  The organization bestows upon Miles the duty of gaining government secrets and stopping the "Aires Project" since he does not have an identity in society and thus can infiltrate the oppressive government structure without notice.  Along the way Miles is forced to go undercover as a robot servant where he meets Diane Keaton's character Luna. Luna is happy with the structure of the government being as how she is basically programmed and lied to in a society based on sex and drugs.  Miles kidnaps her and introduces her to the underground, anarchist movement to which she becomes a major part in.

The political undertones, while not necessarily relating to anything in actual society, were reminiscent of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World.  If you are familiar with the book and you may be pleasantly surprised by how the two share similar government and societal structures.  Having said that, I love Allen's movie WAY more if only because the comical perspective was more entertaining.  If Allen himself were trying to make a political stance, I don't know, but it is quite clear that the government in this movie is too controlling and must be handled.

As I mentioned earlier, the comical partitives to Sleeper are quite note worthy.  As is the case with many of Allen's earlier films, Take the Money and Run, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex *But Were Too Afraid To Ask, Bananas, and even Annie Hall, there is a classic set of humor that I can only classify as Allenesque.  As you get later into his filmography this comical undertone is still apparent  yet not as slap stick as it appears here in Sleeper.  I, personally, love the comedy found in these films and find their successors just as funny.  If you are not familiar with many of his earlier works you may be surprised by the amount you'll be laughing.

Sleeper had a Charlie Chaplin-esque feel about it as well.  Most noteworthy being the giant fruit scene in which Miles breaks onto a farm to steal a piece of giant food to eat while hiding in the woods.  The scene is filled with music as Miles scurries away back into the woods while supposedly being chased by the farm's owner.  One could watch this movie with the sound off and enjoy it just as much as someone who has the sound blaring.

For one of his earliest works I still consider Sleeper to be one of Allen's bests (yes, I do say that about everyone of his movies).  It is comical and interesting especially since we are almost living in the future that Allen tried to describe.  I can't wait until I have my robot servant though, maybe I'll dress up as one next Halloween.

My Halloween costume one year

My Top Ten Movies

I'm always asked what my favorite movie is.  This is a huge problem considering the fact that I can't remember the last five I've even watched, there are too many.  I love movies, as if that we not already apparent by the fact that you are on my movie blog.  So when I say I can't possibly limit it to one someone raises the stakes to "top five" still impossible.  So here you have it folks (and I'll also post it below my top 5 directors) my top ten favorite movies.

Woody Allen's Manhattan (which may actually be my favorite)

Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo

Darren Aronofsky's Pi

Gus Van Sant's Good Will Hunting

Zach Braff's Garden State (I was recently reminded of my love for this movie when a friend discovered Scrubs.  I cannot wait for Wish I Was Here)

Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs

Billy Wider's The Apartment

George Lucas' Star Wars (part of me wants to defend my nerdy side but this is who I am, deal)

John Landis' Animal House

Mary Harron's American Psycho

Blue Jasmine (Woody Allen Wednesday make-up)

Blue Jasmine was the first Woody Allen movie I have ever seen in theaters.  I know it makes no sense but I have this irrational fear of going to the movies alone.  The reason it makes no sense is I used to work at one and hundreds of people would go in by themselves daily and I never gave it a second thought. When faced with the idea of doing this myself, however, I felt like a total loser.  But I needed to see this movie and I needed to see it in theaters.  So I gathered up the courage, stuck some cheap candy in my bag, and headed to the theater.  I was early and the theater was quite empty, mind you I saw it it's third week in theaters, so I sent a text to my dad asking what loser status I was at going to a Woody Allen movie by myself.  He quickly answered I was, in fact, the biggest loser, thank you dad.  Yet I was still determined to see this movie, dammit.  Slowly the theater filled, as only a Woody Allen movie could, with couples and friends of multiple ages, all brought together for the same work of art.  Even then, three weeks after it's release, on a holiday weekend (it was Yom Kippur and although I should have been hidden away, cut off from society somewhere, I was there) the theater became packed.  Looking around I was probably the only one alone, and the youngest, but I was still among my people, the fans of the greatest director of all time.

I watched the movies in awe, the rest of the world didn't exist, I wouldn't allow it to.  I was so captivated by perhaps one of the best acting performances I'd ever seen and a plot that was interestingly simplistic and beautifully masterful all that the same time.  As if I could love Cate Blanchett any more after her work in Lord of the Rings, her performance in this movie had me unable to breathe it was so believable and touching.  I have been hearing reviews about Blue Jasmine since it came out and the one repetitive claim is that the acting in this movie was phenomenal.  I could not agree with anything else more.  Not only by Blanchett, who portrays Jasmine, but by the entire cast!  The emotionally bondage I felt to these characters was unmeasurable to anything I'd ever watched before.  Aided by Sally Hawkins, Ginger (Jasmine's sister), the female duo creates a wonderful sisterly bond and friendship.  Both teaching and learning from the other, Ginger mostly learning to not be her sister and instead be herself.  The male entourage: Alec Baldwin, Andrew Dice Clay, Bobby Cannavalle, Peter Sarsgaard, and Louis C. K. also gave memorable performances, and I will admit that when I saw the cast list I was a bit concerned, I was proven wrong on so many levels.  (Also I didn't know it was possible for me to hate a character played by Louis C. K.)  The acting and connections that the acting created made the movie, as it is a character driven movie rather than plot.

The way the movie flowed was very characteristic of Woody Allen, told through the memory sequences of Jasmine to her marriage with Hal, Baldwin.  It was a failed marriage of course filled with cheating and lying, another signature of most Allen films.  The story follows Jasmine after a failed marriage with the rich and successful Hal, after which she moves to California to be with her sister after she's supposedly lost everything.  We learn a lot about Jasmine through her interactions with a fellow passenger on the plane who leaves and tells her husband she has no idea who Jasmine is or why she was talking to her, supposedly she'd started by talking to herself (foreshadowing of Jasmine's ill mental state).  We learn that Ginger is divorced and her ex, Augie, Clay, that Jasmine is a bit "stuck up".  We follow the story and learn about Hal's unfaithfulness and his scamming ways which caused Jasmine to become broke. Other information is revealed to the viewer in further flashbacks and Jasmine's interactions with her estranged son.

Jasmine is a pretentious, snobby, and narcissistic woman who, despite her bankruptcy and dependency on her sister, still believes she is better than everyone.  She tries to tell Ginger how to run her life and in the process drives her away.  She is incapable to be honest with herself and in turn others which make it impossible for her to make new relationships and destroys them if she does.  She goes from having everything to having nothing, we see the cause and effect of her actions and the downfall of a powerful woman into, almost, insanity.  Never has a character been so well rounded and beautifully captured withing 90 minutes as Jasmine, not to mention had a beautifully depressing story and amazing supporting cast.

I was stuck in my seat for a good five minutes as the credits rolled.  Not quite sure what to do with myself from there.  I wanted more of the story yet I was content where it let off.  I wanted to see more of the characters but I had a good idea where they were going.  I really had no unanswered questions that should be answered.  Truth be told I just wanted more of Woody Allen's work.  I am never let down, and Blue Jasmine certainly lived up to expectations.

Blue Jasmine is completely beautiful and I can't wait to see what comes next year.

Cate Blanchett (Jasmine) and Sally Hawkins (Ginger)

The Apartment

Yes, another Billy Wilder review.

This movie was recommended to me by a friend and usually I procrastinate watching movies I haven't chosen myself, it's sort of a pride thing and a product of being told what to do for years.  Anyway, a Billy Wilder recommendation seemed to me too good a movie to pass up.  I was not wrong.

C. C. Baxter is special.  Not special because of a talent of intelligence, but because he has the key.  The key to his apartment.  Everyone at Baxter's job is willing to help him get promoted in exchange for his key and the use of his apartment for their affairs and privacy.  This of course gives Baxter the upper hand at work but destroys his personal life as his neighbors believe him to be a creep and he can never actually go home.  Baxter's new boss and head of the company ends up wanting to use Baxter's apartment with the elevator girl Fran whom Baxter is interested in.  Unfortunately, Fran is very into Sheldrake, Baxter's married boss, who leaves her alone in the apartment on Christmas to be with his family.  Fran swallows all of Baxter's sleeping pills and when he returns he finds her half dead. Luckily a neighbor is a doctor and saves her, leaving Baxter to care for her. There is more of course but I refuse to ruin the ending.

This movie is steadily becoming my second favorite of all time (nothing surpasses Woody Allen's Manhattan).  This is surprising since I'm not usually one for romance, The Apartment is one of the few exceptions to this rule (yes, most movies have a hint of romance but this one is full one romance with a hint of comedy).  The plot and acting were so strong that I was captivated for the entire 2 hours.  As if I needed another reason to love John Lemmon after Some Like it Hot, Billy Wilder gives me more excuses to compare him to the always fantastic, never disappointing, James Stewart.  Both actors put on brilliant performances that are both interesting and captivating.  While I usually fall for a director's work a proceed to view multiple movies of theirs, very few times am I actually so motivated to follow an actor's works.  Expect me to be writing more reviews about John Lemmon and, what I am sure, his brilliant work.

The movie begins with one of the most beautiful monologues ever (though I am a fool for facts and figures) as Baxter rants about the number of people who work in his office and the hours and himself working late.  Taken out of context one might think this is a movie about a normal business worker and his hard work to get promoted, and honestly if he worked those hours without ulterior motives he'd get the promotion without sacrificing his apartment.  This opening monologue is interesting though and a great lead in to the entire motivations behind Baxter's actions.

As always Wilder does a fantastic job of creating a movie I can't help but become attached to, even after just one viewing.  His movies are ones that I am willing to sacrifice sleep, work, and society for.  I become so emotionally entrapped in the world he has creating that our own does not seem as bright, despite being in black and white.  The characters in this movie are just everyday people like you and I, and their interactions are  common (It was also useful in telling me how to get ahead at work!  If anyone is hiring and need to use my dorm I'm your girl).

The audience is given the upper hand of knowing Fran's relationship with Baxter's boss before Baxter himself is aware.  The dramatic irony leading up to Baxter's discovery are painful to watch as her, for lack of better terms, makes an ass out of himself trying to impress her.  I sat on the edge of my seat for a good half hour just waiting for the characters to catch up to my knowledge.  A painful half hour that I am most certainly a better person for (I hope).

I don't think I've ever felt so happy for a character and as fulfilled as I was at the end of this movie. Certainly other endings have made me happy but I got everything I wanted out of this movie as the credits rolled.  If it hadn't been 3am the night before my 9am class I would have most certainly played it again.  This is also the movie that pushes Billy Wilder onto my top 5 directors list (sorry Kubrick, I still love you).

Some Like it Hot

Back from hiatus and I'm just going to jump back in with another Wilder movie and then another. Don't like it?  Then you picked the wrong blog to read.

Some Like it Hot probably wouldn't be viewed as taboo as it may have been when it was originally released in the late 50s.  It focuses on the prohibition era of the 20s and two musicians, Joe and Jerry, who witness a "mob hit".  Unfortunately, the mob head notices them and refuses to leave witnesses, ordering they be killed.  Fretting for their lives the men flee to Florida as part of an all girls band, adapting the alter egos of Daphne (Jerry) and Josephine (Joe).  Only problem is Sugar, Marilyn Monroe whom Joe, falls for.  Immediately the two men are thrown further into their lie, Joe pretending to be two people he is not, Josephine and the heir to the Shell oil industry to impress Sugar, and Daphne, gets caught in a love affair with a rich man who believes he is a woman.  As if that weren't enough, the mob ends up in Florida and finds out who they really are, leading to a whole chase.

The movie is a combination of romance, suspense, and hilarity.  The characters are hilarious in both of their personas and you can't help but get caught up in the drama they create for themselves.  Once you believe that they are in the clear and have rid themselves of the danger of being caught, another problem arises and in the ends leads us into a Scooby Doo chase with multiple costume changes and random door exits.

The premise is one that is absolutely ridiculous in and of itself, two men as women and traveling with a band and no one noticing they don't belong?  Not very likely, but I will expand my disbelief to unmeasurable bounds if only to have the ending that I get here.

The acting is also superb.  As I mentioned in the review of the Seven Year Itch, I must commemorate the acting of Marilyn Monroe.  She plays the same ditzy blonde here of course, and reminds me where we get stereotypes, but I couldn't hate her.  I learned more about Sugar in this movie than I did the main characters Joe and Jerry.  Yet the character development is one of my favorite things about this movie.  Not only do we learn about Joe and Jerry but we watch as they create new identities and stories for those identities.  Within this movie we have two characters playing five different people each of which has a very distinct and differential personality.  The character shifts are also very easy to follow.  Joe who is at first opposed to the idea of dressing up as a woman quickly jumps on board to save his life.  He acts professional until he notices how great Sugar is and creates a completely new personality to suit her needs.  Jerry, on the other hand, is furious with Joe to start but quickly becomes excited when surrounded by the woman's band.  Still mad at Joe, he disdainfully agrees to "wing man" his date with Sugar by going out with a rich old man.  The next morning Jerry, as Daphne, is happily engaged.  The shifts are notable and hilarious, I cannot unsee John Lemmon happily shaking maracas dressed as a soon to be married woman (as I will mention in my next blog John Lemmon is one of my favorite actors and certainly an asset to this movie and cinema in general).

I have been asked if I've seen this movie hundreds of times, and sometimes I see it advertised as playing in theaters, they do that in my hometown, but I am unhappy to admit I had never before last week.  This is certainly a movie I believe everyone should have the joy of watching.  There have been so many adaptations into modern movies, White Chicks, that I it is still relevant today.

Certainly one of Billy Wilder's greatest movies, it's hard to order them, but definitely among the top 5. If you want to watch something wildly hilarious and a bit chaotic, watch this movie.